Advanced Energy For Life

By Frank Clemente PhD.
Energy from fossil fuels is the lifeblood of modern society. Coal, oil and natural gas provide 82 percent of our energy and support an ever improving quality of life for billions across the world.

The answer: clean coal technology.
Coal powers more electricity around the world than any other fuel and is increasingly important to our energy future. Coal is expected to become the world’s largest energy source in coming years, surpassing oil.

The decision by the Department of Energy (DOE) to pull the plug on $1 billion in funding for the FutureGen carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project could legally undermine EPA’s proposed new source performance standard (NSPS) that requires new coal plants to install the technology, critics say.

Bringing electricity to developing nations has been a global effort for the past 20 years and, according to a recent study released by the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Energy Policy and the Environment, coal has brought light, economic prosperity and a higher standard of living to hundreds of millions of people… far more than any other source of energy.

We all share common goals of affordable energy, a strong economy and a clean environment. So as the new U.S. Congress considers energy policy in the wake of the State of the Union, we believe clean coal is vital.

Pro/Con: Do carbon dioxide’s pluses trump its negatives? Yes: Despite EPA’s word games, it’s profoundly Earth-friendly. In a thinly disguised assault on coal and hydrocarbons, the Obama Administration would have us believe that carbon dioxide (CO2) is a threat to life itself.

The EPA acts as though it has the legislative authority to re-engineer the nation’s electric generating system and power grid. It does not.

As a law professor, I taught the nation’s first environmental law class 45 years ago. As a lawyer, I have supported countless environmental causes. And as a father and grandfather, I want to leave the Earth in better shape than when I arrived.

By: Laurence H. Tribe

Article published in the Wall Street Journal. Reproduced with permission from Dow Jones and Company, Inc.